On paper, Ophidian I's Solvet Saeclum debut album has interesting aspects to it: technical death metal, brutally intense, complex, for fans of Obscura, Necrophagist and The Faceless. But does it live up to the expectations?

The album cover is hellish and dystopian, evoking the end of the world, and so are the lyrics used to portray that image. What we have here is entangling technical death metal, which displays complexity and intricate riffs, but the more interesting songs are the ones that present more melody, atmosphere, and something a little bit more different than that mold of precision. Some songs sound so clinical that it seems like the musicians are inside their heads all the time and thinking too much. Songs like "Shedyet" with its groove, good pace and commanding words present some of the best moments of the album whose main setback is the inability to be sustainable in its high points. The weaving bass and outbreaks of genius shifts are also among those high points.

The Obscura influence is clear but that is not a problem; what lets the album down is that it needs more variation and standout moments to compensate for the familiarity we feel with certain riffs and song structures, which are competent yet sometimes bland. Having said that, at least the band knows where it stands. They know how to play their instruments and show it, but occasionally it makes you question if the music itself is taking a backseat to the execution.

To answer the question of the first paragraph: well, yes and no. It is certainly complex metal, albeit not impossibly fast, but in comparison to what it promises to be, what it does more is spark your curiosity, which isn't such a bad thing to start with. If the band connects more with their songwriting ability, considering this is only their first album, the future might bring good things.

I'm really cautious when I check out modern tech death, cuz a lot of it to me falls short of your classic stuff like Death, Atheist, and Nocturnus and just sounds like overly complex waffle focused more on raw virtuosity than actual composing ability. However, you make these guys sound appealing in the fact that they do get into a bit of a proggy atmosphere here and there. Love Obscura and The Faceless, so I'll give this album a peek. Thanks for sharing

This is my first tech death metal review so I understand the surprise. I do however review more than prog. It was nice to try something different too because while I listen to death metal and enjoy the virtues of tech, I don't usually review it.

Pretty good review exactly how one would describe them, I at least. Well these guys do show they got some pretty interesting ideas.

Fritillaria - 29.07.2013 at 12:43

This is one of Technical Death metal albums which is still interesting for me after several listens, and nice review and I so much agree with : " What we have here is entangling technical death metal, which displays complexity and intricate riffs, but the more interesting songs are the ones that present more melody, atmosphere, and something a little bit more different than that mold of precision. "